Air Quality and Climate Change as Integrated Policy

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Climate change and the activity of people are reciprocally affecting each other creating a serious problem. The current situation of air quality and climate change has been describes by the Third Assessment Report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which assesses the research results over the last five years (Houghton et. al, p. 2). According to the report, the temperature has risen by 0, 6 °C over the previous century resulting in decreasing level of snow capes, increasing sea level, precipitation changes, severe drought or severe wetness (Houghton et. al, pp. 3-5). As a result, the planet had started to pay us back by reminding us to consider taking care of the planet. Such can be done by changing policies through the development of an integrated approach.

Global warming and air pollution anticipate negative influence on mankind, such as respiratory diseases, asthma, and allergies. Humans can prevent their harmful activities through the control of regulations (Kinney 2008). Nevertheless, climate change issue requires multi dimensional assessment; it is most common that the scientists use integrative models, which are a combination of scientific and economic aspects for policy options assessment (Folmer & Tietenberg, p.172). The purpose of integrated assessment is to suggest new options for climate change control, ensure single framework for climate change aspects, and analysis of climate change effect on mankind. The beneficial goals of the approach are maximizing the social welfare and health by minimizing the cost of environmental regulation. The organizations are seeking to pursue stategies with the most beneficial outcome trying to satisfy the needs of both parties (Ravishankara 2010).

Although, integrated approach implementation poses political, social, and scientific challenges. According to the IPCC reports, the climatic changes are caused by the increase of 17 percent from 1999 to 2007 of carbon dioxide and also other harmful gases usage, which declines the air quality (Raishankara 2010). For this reason, more effective local management strategies to regulate the emission are needed, followed by the need in the creation of more efficient national policies (Kinney 2008, p. 40). In their turn, the professionals are in research of alternative fuels and powers, which will decrease the level of greenhouse gasses emission. The three aspects are closed in a vicious circle, what poses a problem for resolving the implementation of an integrated approach, which needs constant updating.

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For this reason, another type of approach has been created to ensure the air quality change on many levels. Compartmentalized or fragmented approach designates interconnection of many small systems of approaches, which aim to verify the air for pollution, forcing agents and the compulsory, identify the climate forcing agents and qualify their indicators through their relations, as well as control the past information and predict the future air pollution and climate change (Ravishankara 2010). The problem consists in algorithmic quantifying of the pattern of indicators, unable to predict those, which do not have the pattern, that are mainly based on individual intervention.
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The policies related to individual behaviors are less effective when addressing the climate change, rather than the air quality. The governmental regulations, restrictions of car usage, or plant emissions affect the percentage of the gasses in the atmosphere on a rather short notice. Climate change depends on many aspects, including air quality. Kinney (2008) writes that, according to the SAR, “the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate”,; therefore, individual human impact on climate change has long term consequences, and can be observed happening gradually (p. 55).

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To conclude, among the most widespread issues,(environmental threats), such as air quality and climate change, are the most important “time bomb” problems. Humans test the environment by affecting through their actions on the climate, air pollution, and, as a result, our lives. However, using an integrated approach, government can control the atmospheric situation, giving time for researchers to discover alternative ways in controlling climate change and air quality.